Thursday, July 17, 2014

Our Experience So Far - The King and I

Most of June and just about all of July (in the evenings anyway) we have been spending our time at the local community theatre. Little did I know when I volunteered to be an extra wife how much of my time would be involved with The King and I this summer. Blocking, dancing, singing, memorizing and so on. Participating in a community play is a lot of work and can be very fulfilling, especially if you are already involved with the arts in some fashion. I have made a list of the advantages or special perks for participating in this type of endeavor.

At the top of my list would have to be meeting new people from the community. Four years ago Grace participated in The Wizard of Oz and our experience with the community theatre was good although I didn't get to know the actors or other families that much during the experience. This go around it is completely different. The group of wives consists of 13 women and teenage girls. They are all wonderful in their own individual ways and it is quite fun getting to spend time talking with them during the down times.

Next on my list would be learning and experiencing new skills. As I have mentioned in previous posts I will be taking over the high school drama department at our Cooperative this year and I am gaining a world of hands on experience by being in the musical. That was actually one of the main reasons I agreed to participate. Blocking, choreography, scheduling, costuming, and so much more.

Last but certainly not least is probably one of the most important parts of the whole experience. Getting to spend quality time with my daughter doing something she lives for. Since the age of nine performing has been one of Grace's greatest passions. Now I get to experience what she experiences and share it with her on stage. In that respect it really has been great. We are both wives which means our parts are identical. We can practice together the songs and dances and bounce ideas off of each other. She is so much better than me and I rely on her to remind me blocking, order of scenes, etc. when I get a little frazzled. Performance nights will be something special we can always look back on as time spent together doing something she loves.

Small House of Uncle Thomas - the 15 minutes ballet that it our biggest part in the play

We also have another intense dancing scene with Western People Funny

I hope our friends will come out to support the community theatre and watch a really great performance of the King and I. We have only two more weeks from today until we start a 8 show run.

2 comments:

I have enjoyed working on this with you, Diane. You and Grace are a lot of fun. Being an extra wife has been more than I realized it would be… but fun too. I have met so many people in the community already which has been nice. Looking forward to the next 2 weeks and then showtime! :-)